Best Public Pools In Los Angeles

May 16, 2014 5:00 AM

(credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

(credit: istockphoto)

Public pools are all the rage in the Southland come summer when these water wonderlands come alive for the season. There are so many that the best options are almost too tough to tie down, but here are some hot spots CBS LA covered last year and another five are below for you to consider as your favorite places to splash down and around in a community pool near you.

Take the plunge not far from the Pacific at these community pools in Santa Monica. The 25-yard Splash Pool, a shallow pool with 10 lanes, is reserved for beginners and/or smaller swimmers to take on while the much larger fitness pool is for the more athletically inclined. Adult lap swims are regularly scheduled for the latter while family swim nights and special teen nights are periodically on tap. Like-minded swimmers can share in the glory of splashing around in a fun atmosphere that’s also a health sport in which to indulge.

At the corner of Riverside Drive and Los Feliz Boulevard in Los Feliz, this east side pool open to the public is a highlight in the summer when kids get to swim for free. Not only that, but the shallow end is reserved for little ones who like to splash about and not really get anywhere. The deep end serves as a serious place for more acclimated water rats (human ones) to get some exercise. Located at the entrance to the largest municipal park in the nation and home to the LA Zoo, this is a good place to end the day after meeting, greeting and even feeding all of the exotic animals living in another fine Griffith Park attraction.

Valley girls and boys and their parents make this particular public pool a great place to relax, swim and fraternize with fellow Valley-ites. Water polo for beginners is offered at this heated watering hole as is synchronized swimming for the uninitiated. Want to learn how to dive? You can do that too at the Valley Plaza Pool this summer.

Everyone in Pasadena loves Rose Bowl Aquatics located in Brookside Park (just south of the Rose Bowl proper), even the little old ladies The Beach Boys were always singing about. Especially popular at the community pool are the dive-in movie events and the family swims that bring everyone together for a playful evening or two in the still of the summer. The admission price is right too: $1 for kids and $2 for seniors.

This massive swimming complex ready and waiting behind the Coliseum has two pools on offer, one for wading (and splashing) and the other for serious swimmers out to hone their sport before, after and during competitions. And so, while the more accomplished are zooming up and down the lanes in one watering hole, the little ones are having a blast while dipping their toes in another. These pools are open all year long and are free to use by the younger set.

TEST Los Angeles freelance travel writer Jane Lasky, contributes to publications such as Travel + Leisure, Vogue and Esquire. Her weekly sojourning column ran in 40 newspapers for 20 years. Jane is anything but an accidental tourist. Check out her articles on Examiner.com.